Program and Proceedings
Conference Information
View the 4th Annual RGV STEM Education Conference full program.
Dr. Melody Russell, Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Auburn University
Dr. Melody L. Russell is a Professor of Science Education in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching in the College of Education at Auburn University. She received her doctorate from the University of Georgia, a M.S. degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the Biological Sciences, and a B.S. degree in Laboratory Animal Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her research focuses on strategies for promoting persistence and resilience in STEM for students traditionally underrepresented students. Her scholarly work is published in peer-refereed journals, presented at regional, national and international conferences and she has been a recipient of multiple National Science Foundation awards focused on broadening participation in STEM. She has also co-edited a book entitled Multicultural Science Education: Preparing Teachers for Equity and Social Justice with Dr. Mary Atwater and Dr. Malcolm Butler for Springer Publishing.
Dr. Wesley Pitts, Professor of Science Education, Lehman College
With inspiration from the late Rep. John Lewis and other trailblazers such as the current National Youth Poet Laureate Ms. Amanda Gorman, Dr. Pitts will lead a discussion framed by the following central question: How can we help support and move the agency and practices of good disruptors in STEM education into central positions so that they can be afforded opportunities to build and share their practices? Being and becoming a good disruptor is always associated with opportunities and uncertainties in that every sociocultural action can potentially help to transform systems and can also help to reinforce systems and their boundaries. Accordingly, the constructive practices of disruptors help to challenge the contexts of deep-rooted ideologies and practices that help to perpetuate institutional inequalities. For example, transformative practices that challenge systems of political ideologies, such as national and state level covenants, can change the power structures and boundaries that exist to maintain systems of education that continually stratify opportunities for students and educators in STEM.
Dr. Ellen Carpenter, Program Director, National Science Foundation
Programmatic support for undergraduate STEM education from the National Science Foundation
About Conference
Welcome to the 4th Annual RGV STEM Education Conference. February 25 - 27, 2021.
The conference started as an idea from Dr. Chapman, a UTRGV Assistant Professor, to help STEM students from the Rio Grande Valley prepare academically, socially, and psychologically for their postsecondary education. One challenge, as Dr. Chapman states, is developing a way to leverage students’ cultural and linguistic capital to help learn math and science. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Hispanics are underrepresented in undergraduate and graduate STEM programs and are not sufficiently exposed to STEM subjects at the K-12 Level. The long-term goal of this consortium is to ensure that high quality science experiences are accessible for all students. One of Dr. Chapman's research projects will include a developing and testing science curriculum that helps students develop a deeper understanding of academic vocabulary, as well as examining the social, psychological and cultural factors that influence student participation and learning in science.
The Inaugural RGV STEM Education Conference (November 2017) hosted more than 150 educators, students, and other stakeholders. Participants addressed the challenges faced in their classrooms according to their respective STEM subject. Educators also had the chance to view posters from the UTeach Undergraduate Research projects. These students discussed topics regarding what they learned during their early field experience in Edinburg CISD High Schools; topics included teacher certification versus alternative certification, technology impact in the classrooms, collaborative learning, and other differing areas of STEM.
In order to fulfill the long-term goal, we have started collaborating with high school teachers from the McAllen District, Vanguard Academy, and La Joya ISD to develop curriculum to help students master academic vocabulary. The objective is to work collaboratively to develop asset-based science curricula that help students develop understanding of the high level, discipline specific vocabulary. The ‘multiple vocabulary strategies model’ has transformative potential to help both science teachers and students in their classroom. Dr. Chapman hopes to improve the learning of science and math, and to aid bilingual and ELL student’s recognize and utilize their knowledge of Spanish as a form of linguistic capital. This objective is targeted to influence and prepare Hispanic students to pursue careers in the STEM field.
Challenging Our Assumptions: Towards Transformative Practices in STEM Education
- Initiative Funded by The Greater Texas Foundation is funding this initiative.
- Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Hand2Mind Inc.
- Break Out Sessions
- Conference flyer: Print the conference flyer to post or inform an educator about this event.
- Request Information: For more information, send an email to rgvstemed@utrgv.edu.